Thanksgiving pictures...

Aidan's turkey:

Ethan getting a belated birthday present from uncle Joe:

Ryland got a present as well. When all else fails, use your teeth!

Ethan challenges grandma Cheryl to a serious game of "connect four."

Ethan's festive hat:

Charity's mom (grandma Carol), with a little Hope:

Papa Rick and Halle:

Grandpa reads, the boys listen, and Halle snoozes peacefully:

Halle smiles for Momma:

Ethan gives grandpa Rick some pointers as he battles Aidan:

Halle-Bear Rolls, Hopey-Bug YELLS

Halle rolled over this morning. She was so very proud~the look on her face priceless. She looked at me as if she was saying "Did you make me do that!?" She proceeded to do it again, and again, and again. So cute. I have treasured these moments with all my kids, loving the excitement they have for learning, exploring and becoming.

Hope's been rolling for awhile. When she did it for the first time, her look was one of "I meant to do that, I've been doing that all along, you just realized it that's all." And goodness, that girl is just nutty with her yelling. Last night I was washing a bottle, taking way too long as I gathered from her yelling. Her eyebrows were furrowed, here tiny hands and arms flapping, YELLING at me!! I don't know how one yell could last so long without stopping for a breath!

After 5 kids and 7 years, and many whole-hearted efforts to clean it thoroughly, our lovely couch has been banished. We needed something wipe-able. We found a great deal on a new set, but it's cold so I bought two "teddy-bear" throws from Costco. The girls love them! As does Sharlet and Shiloh much to Chad's chagrin (he's allergic to the kitties). Hope and Halle grab the blankets and flap their chubby arms, smiling away...

On a side note, our washer is fixed! Yay! I will never complain about laundry again; I'm just so very glad to be able to do it in our own home!

And Thanksgiving was wonderful here at our home with Grandpa Rick, Grandma Cheryl, Cheryl's son, daughter-in-law and their adorable 4 month old baby girl, Uncle Joe and Charity's Mom Carol. Chad made an absolutely amazing turkey & stuffing! That man is just beyond the best. I think everyone had a turn with our camera and many precious memories were captured... presents from uncle Joe, games with Grandma Cheryl playing games, Halle and I bonding, Grandpa Rick reading stories with Halle asleep in his lap (I don't think his arms were without a baby as long as one was awake!). I will post those tonight, as well as change the blog over to private~I think I left plenty of time for anyone who wanted to have access to let me know.

Oh and I spoke to Charity, and she had a great thanksgiving with twenty other Believer's in SE Asia. It was so good to hear her voice, despite the 5 second delay. I've got Skype now so we can talk, and see each other!

Charity

Our wonderful friend, sister, and auntie is no longer in the country. We are missing her greatly already. Carol will be coming to our place for Thanksgiving along with Katherine and Josh but it won't be the same without Charity! She is doing wonderfully so far in SE Asia. Here are pictures from her commisioning/send-off party...

Aidan Jacob

Here is my sweet Aidan with Grandma Sharon. He saw me posting once and asked why there were so many more pictures of the girls than the boys. I told him that they had such a tough start to life, nearly dying, and that it was such an awesome miracle the way God brought them to us. (I need to type up the story about how we nearly took twin newborn boys home on a Monday, but ended up hearing about Hope and Halle who were born the next day, a Tuesday). So I've been putting up updates on them such as how they're growing (going from 3.5lbs to over 16lbs in 6 mos is pretty amazing!). I told him that my boys were just as important as my girls and I would be sure to talk more about them. So here we go...

While I'll journal much more about him on his 8th birthday January 10th, here is a short post just about Aidan. He was so cute when he was able to buy any $15.00 toy with some money he'd saved. He found a good deal on an anniversary build-a-bear at JC Penneys. When you squeeze one hand you can record a message, and then you squeeze the other hand and the message is replayed. Pretty cool! So he bought this bear and named her Justine, so that she could get married to his first (a frog). He is now searching for their children. I've found Justine several times, waiting for me on my bed, or other spot she knew she would find me, with a special message from Aidan, such as "Momma, you're the best Momma I could've ever asked God for. I love you SO SO SO much! From your Aidan."
Oh and he is SO good at Tae Kwon Do and is now a blue belt. He is excelling in math and is now reading chapter books. I'm so proud of the little gentleman he is. He hold doors for ladies, always lets me go first no matter what we're doing, makes me cards often and he loves to feed and hold and sing to the babies too. I wish I could remember the Hope (Hoper-Snapper-3000 as she is called for some reason) song he recently made up.

And I haven't forgotten about getting the other pics of of Charity's good-bye but I was waiting on permission from a couple other people before I put them all up.

Happy Half Birthday to Hope & Halle!

Our little bundles of joy are six months old tomorrow! They just recently began reaching out and grabbing objects, reacting with irritation when the object falls or is taken away. Hooray! A wonderful developmental milestone... anger/injustice. :o) They are still only on formula and still sleeping 12 hrs straight a night besides the occasional nose-suction (we have yet another cold!), a quick cuddle or binkying. Halle weighs an even 16 pounds and Hope is just over 13.5. More importantly, they are belly laughing and "talking" now. This is my favorite baby stage! They are such a joy to interact with.

Halle has changed so very much from her younger days. While she still loves to be held close, moved slowly, sung to softly and fed immediately, she is much more easy going now! She used to fuss and fret, and even scream, when the tiniest thing was done to her that she didn't like. I couldn't go anywhere when she was tired or she'd cry in her carseat, never falling asleep. We joked about how tough she would be as she grew~how we'd struggle knowing how to quiet her temper without breaking her spirit. Hope was always so relaxed, and Halle was uptight. Yet all of the sudden, the tables have turned! Hope isn't really uptight, but she's much more, what is the word... insistent? Or is it determined? I'm not sure but while Hope has changed somewhat, Halle has really changed. She is mellow, smiley and very very easy. It may have been her kinked neck, as she was always very stiff, or it may have been sensory overload related to the cocaine exposure. It also could've been the acid reflux, though when we took her off the Zantac, at 5 mos, she was still happy as a clam. She spits up so much still, so I'm changing both she and I at least twice a day, and sometimes more. She's so worth it. :o) Her little crinkle-nose, scraggly-tooth smile is so funny! She doesn't have any teeth yet but her gums are kinda bumpy on top so it looks like it. She's so very happy and so are we to have her in our lives!!! We adore our Halle Faith.

Halle with her Nana. Two of the sweetest people I know.

Hope kept pinching Papa Ricks cheek after church at Charity's send-off. She had such a mischievous look on her face~she knew what she was doing. (I promised Sharon I would post more pics of this event tomorrow, as well as ones of the Bezansons and Thronesses at our place after Ethan's birthday party.)

Hope Noelle is as much of a joy as her sister of course! Her smile also lights up the room and she has made me completely unaware of our our Western Washington grey skies this Fall. As I mentioned earlier, Hope is much more aware now and interested in being involved in decisions regarding her care. :o) She makes me laugh so hard when she is mad or hungry or whatever because she will not cry. She yells. Yes, there is no crying rhythm whatsoever. It's just plain a yell. Though she is happy most of the time of course, but with two there is usually once a day where it takes a sec to get to her when caring for her sister. She is really so very easy and I'm enjoying have two to go back and forth between, smiling for so long that my cheeks ache! She still sucks her pointer and middle finger on only her right hand, putting herself to sleep easily where ever she may be, on my chest or Daddy's usually. She is currently cutting her first two teeth!

Hope adores Ryland. Here she was grabbing his cheeks and batting at him for about 15 minutes, smiling and smiling while Ry giggled and giggled. Siblings are one of the greatest blessings in childhood!!!

Hope began rolling over from her tummy to her back and we're very careful about where we set them down now. Though neither of the twins is set down for very long anyway while they're awake! No bald spots or flat spots on these baby girls' heads! They sleep so much of the day still (2~2.5 hour naps) that I cannot imagine not being with them when they're awake. I just love my Ergo carrier. It rocks! I can hold one baby and carry the other comfortably in it. I've been very close to/bonded/attached with all my boys, but didn't enjoy carrying them and was never able to sleep without my space. While the girls don't sleep with us, they're with us nearly every waking moment and I can't imagine them being any more bonded to me than they are.

It's a bad pic but here is my Ergo carrier. Highly recommended :o)

Well that's about it for now. We're praying everyday that the Lord would keep these precious souls in our home, under His protection, asking Him to ordain every detail of their adoption. Their first birthday, May 15th, 2008, we will have a will be a huge adoption celebration party as well. I can't wait.

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Singing the praise of 'Tomato Staking'

Sorry to not be regularly updating. But I have some cute pics to share and some exciting happenings around here. My good friend Jolene and I were talking at church on Sunday about the rampant disobedience of kids lately and how many parents are helpless to stop it. And even more important than the disobedience is the way we're not reaching their hearts. And while I know I am reaching my boys hearts, I am not seeing the obedience and kindness in them that I would love to see. I've posted several times about how Chad and I have been really praying about a new vision and methods of parenting. We kept coming back to routine and just really "being" with our children. Light bulb moment... Of course!

Well business, sickness and an extra child in our home with many behavioral issues, kept us from addressing some serious problems we've been seeing in a couple of our boys. These are normal things that all children do, I've been told. "And they're still so much better than most." I'm also told often. That's just not good enough. For awhile I really felt resigned to be less than happy with my kids. I mean I enjoy them yes, but much of the time I'm breaking up fights. It's really hard for me to know what to let slide, but when I see too much that needs to be let slide it's time for some action.

I desire above all to see godly behavior, kindness, respect and love shown toward one another! We memorize the Bible verses and talk often about how we show that we are Christians and we show that we love God, by the love we show to each other. Yet when one boy takes the toy of another, the horns come out and far too often, so have the fists! I know it's possible for them to use their words and control their bodies but they just don't! Obviously I'm not talking all the time but fighting several times a day is just too much in my opinion.

All of this to say that I began "tomato staking" today and it's amazing! I know it will be work and take a lot of perseverance. I know we will have good and bad days, and perhaps today was just a good day for Ethan but I saw the sparkle in his eyes responding to my constant attention, encouragement and interaction. He hardly had a chance to have poor behavior and a poor attitude, and you know what? I'm okay with that! Here is an excerpt from http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/tomatostaking.htm

Every gardener knows what I mean by "tomato staking". A tomato plant grows fast,big, and wild. If left untended, it soon sprawls out into an unwieldy heap. As the fruit grows, it weighs the plant down to the ground. Propping by this time is too late. Any attempt to retrain and redirect the growth of the branches will result in breakage and substantial loss of the fruit due to rot, disease, and pests. On the other hand, a tomato plant which has been properly cared for, will produce an abundance of excellent fruit. From the beginning it must be watered, cultivated, pruned, fertilized, examined for pests, and staked up. The branches will grow the way they were propped and trained, and when the fruit is large and ripe the branches will have the strength to hold those beautiful tomatoes up off the wet ground. What a delight!Think of your child as a tomato plant. Most parents provide too little staking for their growing young tomatoes. They care for them intimately when they are babies, but soon afterwards, begin letting them grow their own way. They feel uncomfortable assuming authority over their children and resort to the “Putting Out Fires” method of parenting. They try desperately to overlook misbehavior and avoid conflicts, unless forced into it by the magnitude of the offense or by their own anger. Serious character flaws and bad behavioral habits, once established, are very hard to change, just like the neglected branches of a tomato plant. Catching problems now and then won’t begin to make a dent in the problem. And just like the sprawling, unattended, unstaked tomato plant, there comes a point when it's simply too late. Your child’s heart will become firmly fixed in the position it has been growing for all the many hours in between your sporadic corrections and over the years when you’ve allowed outside influences and peer pressure to do your staking job for you.

Many well intentioned parents rise up in the morning, feed and clothe their young children, then send them off to play while they try to get all their household chores done single-handedly. Before long they become aware of arguing, bickering, shoving and pushing emanating from the play site. Crying and tattling follow close behind. Frustrated with the interruption, the parents scold and discipline, then send them off again hoping they will be able to finish their chores this time, but the cycle just begins all over. Eventually, some of these parents decide to try Tomato Staking –living with their children rather then coexisting separately. When they do, some of their first questions are: "What do I do with my children all day?", and “How will I get my housework done?” They've accepted the fact that their children need to be close to them, but they don’t have the time to play with them all day and don't know any alternate course. Rather than follow my children around all day amusing them or doing what they want to do, I include them -- even the toddlers -- as much as is possible, in whatever I am doing. After all, the ultimate purpose of Tomato Staking is to teach my children to live and think as I do, and eventually grow to be godly adults. I think that’s a lot better accomplished by having them follow me around, than having me follow them around.

If that sounds interesting to you, you can check out the link above. I know it's not for everyone, obviously impossible for some families, and if you told me about this 2 years ago I would've laughed out loud! (Maybe you are right now and that's okay! :o)) Before, when Chad came home after a full day with my 3 boys I needed to go somewhere. I had to have a break and it hardly came soon enough. But now, I'd rather be with my family than doing anything else because they're much more enjoyable now. I know the girls are easier now, at nearly 6 months, than they will be when they're crawling in two different directions, but I know something now that I did not 3 years ago... It goes by fast! And I'm not going to miss a moment of it saying "I'm so tired" or "I need ME time". I know we need time to ourselves and I have that at night and early in the morning (I've been truly blessed by kids who sleep till at least 7:30 every day). But I just feel differently now.

Anyway, I've read most of the pages on the Raising Godly Tomatoes site and I'm excited about implementing it in our home! I've begun with my son Ethan, because he is the one that needs it the most. It took lots of perseverance but by 3pm he was asking me "Momma what chore are we going to do next?" And "I just LOVE helping you!" All three boys were kept within earshot on the same level of the house as me. We accomplished a ton today and we did absolutely everything together and the boys learned so much. I really am not bragging but I am a listkeeper and it does help me to see all that I can get done when I stay on task and I am shocked that we got so much done together. Obviously it would be much tougher with a 1,3 and 4 year old than with my 7, 6, 4 yo and 6 month olds, but I'm still certain, as long as my attitude is right I could've done it.

(Also, I didn't realize I'd never taught any of them to scrub a toilet! They were surprised to see how often they'd missed 'the mark'. lol)

Here is most of what we accomplished:
~Changed bedding (x6)
~Planned the weekly menu
~Swept the hardwoods
~Vacuumed 3 rooms
~Dusted 3 rooms
~Scrubbed 2 bathrooms
~Put ribs in the crock-pot
~Dishes, dishes, dishes
~LOTS of laundry, sorted, started, changed-over, folded and put away. (6 loads and counting)
~Babies fed, changed, sang to and played with
~Chocolate chip zucchini bread (all learned measuring and really 'got it' this time
~Made Veterans day cards for Ed and Papa Rick
~Fed, watered the chickens and ducks; gathered eggs

Hope is teething so I had her on my front much of the time too. And guess what Ethan told his Daddy right when he walked through the door... "Daddy I had super super fun today doing chores with Momma. I was with her all day! We made the house super clean!"

One other thing we've also implemented in the last week is the meal time candle. We light the candle once we've all sat down and no one can leave until Daddy or Momma says one of the boys can blow it out. We do our high/low of the day too and meal times have gotten to be enjoyable finally after months of really struggling with up and downs and begging to leave before everyone was done. Now it's just part of our routine. Then today at lunch Aidan asked if we could do the candle for lunches too. He also said he was sad to be going to school tomorrow. We did lots of learning today; book learning and life learning. More than any classroom could teach! And I LOVE being my children's teacher. But that's a whole different post I'll save for later. ;o)

Okay, now just a few pictures taken in the last few days. Adorable cuteness overload below, be warned!!! ;o)

In this one Ry had been reading his favorite Little Critter book to Hope and Halle; he didn't appreciate the extra company.